News for the Soul in the news...
We're in the News...
News for the Soul Founder & Publisher Nicole Whitney in the news...The following is a collection of audio and print interviews, news stories, awards & nominations, letters & more that chart the progress of the News for the Soul dream in the making. Nicole's bio >
NEWS FOR THE SOUL MEETS CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL - Look for Nicole's story 'Boardroom Babies' in the Chicken Soup for the Working Moms Soul: Inspiring Stories from the Playroom to the Boardroom [release date October 15, 2007]. Find out more ->
MORE REAL WORLD PROOF THAT YOU CAN TRULY DO ANYTHING: The News for the Soul Story ... Hear about how News for the Soul - the #1 totally free life changing audio resource on the world wide web - was created by one "broke, down and out single mom on disability". Just before launching News for the Soul in January 1997, Nicole Whitney had 3 incurable diseases, two children, no family, money or resources and plenty of excellent reasons why single handedly launching a new form of alternative media wasn't possible. Nonetheless, she hobbled to the printers on her cane, her one year old and eight year old daughters in tow, and printed her first "positive news newspaper" edition using that month's disability check, along with some faith and sheer will ... Over the next decade, the paper then called Know News evolved into a leading resource for self empowerment in print and radio and on the internet. And somehow along the way, the three "incurable'' diseases vanished along with Nicole's old way of thinking and being. Now News for the Soul serves the awakening global community and reminds us all that anything truly is possible.
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RADIO:
News Talk 570
Nov. 26, 2002 - 12:30pm PST: News for the Soul publisher Nicole Whitney being interviewed on "the Glen and Gary show" on News Talk 570 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
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Host: John Pifer AM1040 - 1 hour Interview
Interviewer: John Pifer (former talk show host of 1040 and Nicole Whitney's former editor at the Langley Times, a bi-weekly community newspaper based in Langley B.C.
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Coming Soon:
National TV Footage - Careers TV (Canada) [Airing January 2004]
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'Conscious Journalist' Nicole Whitney "covering" a fire walk in 1987. Read Nicole's fire walk article >
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 News for the Soul founder / host Nicole Whitney "covering" the launch of tandem skydiving in B.C. 1986 (Picture & story ran on the cover of B.C. daily tabloid 'The Province". where Nicole worked under the byline of "Nikki Wagner" in 1986 as a city desk reporter.) |
------------------------------------------------------------mla congratulates nicole: Burquitlam MLA Harry Bloy >------------------------------------------------------------
Awards and Nominations:
[Palm Springs, CA - Winter 2006]
Winner of the 2003 TriCity's Spirit of the Community ~ Community In Action Award (& nominated also in 2001) .(see pictures >)
Nomination - Ethics in Action 2001 > the 8th annual ethics in action awards event in Vancouver, B.C. - June 20, 2001
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Nominations for the unity in diversity award - West Vancouver, B.C. - 1999 and 2000------------------------------------------------------------NEWSPAPER / MAGAZINE
macleans magazine ~ canada's national news magazine ~ Nov., 2001 (article by Ken McQueen)
Top Stories November 26, 2001 Over and Under Achievers And now, for some uplifting news
By rights, Nicole Whitney should have one of the toughest jobs in journalism. As founder and publisher of News for the Soul, a Vancouver-based online newspaper committed to publishing positive, "solutions-oriented" news, she's had to find the silver lining in a world clouded by terrorism, war and fear. Happily, she's found an uplifting amount of good news to report. "It's all I can do to keep up," says Whitney, who adds there's been a big jump in hits to her Web site, www.newsforthesoul.com, since Sept. 11.
While other news agencies fix on anthrax scares, economic decline and conflict, Whitney focuses on a cat that survived 18 days without food or water in post-attack New York City; the Irish airline that hired a comedian to relax its nervous passengers; and the random acts of kindness breaking out in American cities. The site also carries life-affirming interviews with the likes of Mark Victor Hanson, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
People need inspiration more than ever, says Whitney, a former community newspaper reporter who tired of the conflict of mainstream news. "It's not about avoiding things, sticking your head in the sand and being happy, fluffy," she says, adding that you can find positives in even the worst of events. Whitney cites the reports that said some passengers of the hijacked jet that crashed in rural Pennsylvania apparently banded together and fought back. "It doesn't have a very pleasant ending," admits Whitney. "But on the other hand, that was the most inspiring thing I've ever heard in my life."
A Note from Nicole: "I was really amazed and impressed by Macleans," said News for the Soul founder Nicole Whitney. "They had an independent staffer call me after Ken did the initial interview to verify all the information in the article. Wow. That's a first!"
> visit Macleans online click here
Click here to see the actual article >
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MAY 6th 1998 - Coquitlam Now Article (Note: When Nicole first began, this project was an in print newspaper, originally called "Know News")
KNOW NEWS HAS A MISSION OF HOPE
By Scott Neilson, Staff Reporter
If it bleeds it leads in most of today's mainstream media, but not in the pages of the Know News. Know News is good news for a Port Coquitlam based publication attempting to succeed where other positive newspapers have failed before it. The brainchild of Nicole Whitney, a former TriCitiies columnist under the name Nikki Merry, the Know News mission is to "bring the community what it so desperately wants and needs -- positive news," and to educate members of the mainstream media about the importance of positive or pro active solutions-oriented reporting. To have them see the error of their ways and change the way news is presented to the world, thus changing the world positively.
Whitney, who's produced two issues of the Know News and is set to put the third one to bed said the media's preoccupation with negative events that distort the public's perception was behind the paper's creation. She pointed to last week's telecast of a freeway suicide by a Los Angeles TV station, an event the station manger justified as something the public wanted to see, as just such an example.
"That type of stuff is not productive on any level," Whitney explained. "There's a much higher proportion of good things happening all around us. I'm just a mom on a mission but I hope my vision takes off and there's a ripple effect that, in the long term, creates some positive stuff in the community."
Though things haven't exactly burst out of the starting blocks for the tiny paper, former Coquitlam mayor Lou Sekora did have a letter in the April edition offering Whitney his heartfelt congratulations.
"With all of the negative and sad news which emerges day after day, it is indeed refreshing to come across your good news concept," he wrote on city letterhead.
In that vein, Whitney, whose byline incorporates the letters D.G.N.D. (Don't Got No Diploma), said she's hoping to expand her 10,000 copy distribution by hiring commission-only staff and a photographer, whose only pay will come from through the self satisfaction of a job well done. She said she's taking a philosophical approach to the paper's future.
"I think it's an idea whose time has more than come and if it's meant to be, everything will work out." Whitney added "other good news papers didn't fail because good news doesn't sell. It was probably because they weren't run properly. I want to counter balance all the negativity out there and show that good news is no less significant than quote unquote real news."
Click here to see the actual article >
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Giving Peace a Fighting chanceBy Andrew McCredie, North Shore Outlook (North Vancouver) Thursday, May 9th, 2002
West Van is a peaceful place, so its only fitting that it will play host to a peace event this Saturday. "A Peace of the Action" is a daylong program taking place at the Unitarian Church (370 Mathers Ave.) and features some very high profile peaceniks. Dr David Morehouse, the author of the bestselling The Psychic Warrior, is a former US Army remote viewer, a role that saw him use his psychic abilities for military purposes such as locating bases and individuals. His message Saturday is "What the world must do to avoid WW III". John Kehoe, author os the #1 bestseller Mind Power into the 21st Century, will speak on Participating in the Evolution of Consciousness while Having a Blast". Recording Artist and founder of Have Drum will Travel, Mandido, will add a musical flare to the proceedings. And Lynn Valley's Edwin Coppard, the founder of Real People Music and oft opening speaker for motivational guru Anthony Robbins, will present an interactive program focussed on world peace. At first blush, I'm sure many readers are filing this event under "flake-fest" as such things as remote viewing, drumming for peace are often regarded by the "sensible class" Just a bunch of New Agers employing run of the mill psycho-babble in an effort to create some converts to their 21st Century religion, you say. It's the old, if you can't see it it doesn't exist, you say.
However, A Peace of the Action (subtitled an Event for the Soul) which runs from 11am to 9pm and costs $59 per person (yes, peace comes with a price) is just the kind of event many of us were looking for following the terrorist attacks on the United States in September. Remember that empty feeling we had for days, weeks, even months following Sept 11? Many found solace in their place of worship but many others had no place to find peace of mind. Or answers.
A Peace of the Action organizer Nicole Whitney has brought together the high profile presenters to give some meaning and perhaps perspective on those events. And also to provide something that, in light of Tuesday[s suicide bombing in a suburban Israeli pool hall, seem sin short supply in certain parts of the so called civilized world. And that is peace.
Children die every day in the cause of ware as do women and men. Yet rarely in our consumption driven, hectic lives, do we have an opportunity apart from shaking our heads as we read the paper, to consider what our role is in the promotion o f peace. You might well remember Nicole Whitney as the publisher of THE PHOENIX - a free newspaper with the uncynical and somewhat unheard of mandate to be "the Good News Newspaper". The journalist in me always considered that prospect a little naive (we are schooled that 'if it bleeds, it leads') however, the non journalist in me always had great respect for Nicole and her vision for the paper. The same could not be said for advertisers, who never gave The Phoenix a chance. It folded quietly a little while ago. However, Whitney is still committed to her vision of positiveism and that acting locally can, and will make a difference globally. A website (www.newsforthesoul.com) continues the tradition started by THE PHOENIX as do peace events like A Peace of the Action.
Not convinced?
Consider how accepting you are to the opinions and prognostications of Wall Street bankers had Harvard PhDs when they espouse economic theory in the business section of the paper. Yet these theories often play out as just plain incorrect. Yet we still lap it up and probably take the advice to heart and plonk down some cash based on it. Why accept their word and not the word of peace promoters?
Give peace a chance.
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Vancouver Courier - Oct. 10, 2001
Peace petition on local web site attracting worldwide attention
By Chris Miller-Staff writer
The air strikes in Afghanistan over the weekend have redoubled interest in an e-petition for peace developed by an on-line newspaper.
News for the Soul, an on-line newspaper based in Greater Vancouver, saw the number of people calling for a non-violent resolution overseas quadruple from about 1,500 to 6,000 by the end of the weekend.
"It's all sort of flared up again in the last couple of days," said News for the Soul founder Nicole Whitney, who created the petition shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to allow people to express their opposition to a military response. "I knew it was too late before we started. But again, you just never, never know what's going to happen. You never know who's going to read it and be affected."
Whitney has created space so petitioners can add their comments instead of just typing their names and addresses. Feedback ranges from short comments to full-blown essays decrying the militaristic response of the U.S. to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. News for the Soul has already sent a copy of the petition to the White House and the United Nations, and will continue sending updated versions as long as new petitioners sign on. "They just need a place to vent, if nothing else. Essay or not, we'll send every one of them in."
The flood of traffic caused Whitney some anxiety-she was hoping it wouldn't crash the site-but nothing like the worry she experienced a couple of days after the attack, when a contributing editor and author named Dannion Brinkley mentioned News for the Soul on a widely disseminated radio program in the U.S.
"We definitely had a moment when we were nervous. You think, 'Oh, that's great. Then you think, 'Oh, is that great?'"
The web site hasn't experienced any problems so far, despite having received a flood of visitors from both the Lower Mainland and overseas locations such as Indonesia, Australia and Hawaii.
Whitney worked for The Province during Expo 86 before moving on to community newspapers, but soon became discouraged by the way mainstream media focus on negative, conflict-based, sensational news. "I didn't like how I felt when I had to phone the family of someone who died and ask them a stupid question like, 'How do you feel?'"
So Whitney struck out on her own, forming a newspaper called Know News four years ago in the Tri-Cities area. After moving around in the Lower Mainland, she developed News for the Soul, which, like Know News, was initially printed on paper. She went on-line last year because she liked the freedom of working in an electronic format and the ability to reach people worldwide.
So far, Whitney hasn't heard anything from the White House or U.N. Noting that the on-line petition has one shortcoming-that people can't write their signatures on it-she's encouraging everyone to send their messages via snail mail as well. "We can have each person mail something in directly. This would amount to a fair amount of mail these guys would have to open."
To see the first several pages of the petition, visit www.newsforthesoul.com.
Visit Vancouver Courier online >
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Publisher Bob Moody presents The NOW Community Action Award to Nicole Whitney. Spirit awards honour 11 people who make a difference in the Tri-Cities
The Society for Community Development presented 11 Spirit of Community Awards Wednesday, recognizing accomplishments in categories ranging from environmental protection to cultural harmony.
Nancy Aichberger won the BC Gas Environment Award, which honours those who promote awareness and help assemble and sustain a healthy community through respecting and honouring Mother Earth. Rosie S. Trakostanec and the Coquitlam Kinsmen were also nominated.
Melinda Mennie won the SHARE Family & Community Services Society Youth Award, which honours those who respect, invite, support, empower and inspire other youth to take ownership of community involvement. Cindy Choi, Cara Lee Claydon, Jaylene Witala, and Jessica Arthur and Raiya Suleman were also nominated.
In the Vancouver City Savings Credit Union Cultural Harmony Award category, Bahareh Hosseinpour took home the prize. Bill Squance, Jennifer Chiu and Dr. Maryanne Cooper were also nominated. The award honours those who promote the growth of Canadian identity through the incorporation of cultural diversity and building of bridges between cultures.
Merle Smith won this year's Community Ventures Society Ability Awareness Award. John Casey, Nicola Hart, Alysha Kabab and April Jackson were also nominated. The award honours those who recognize, support and encourage the abilities of people who have disabilities, and promote their inclusion into every aspect of life.
Nicole Whitney took home this year's NOW Newspaper Community Action Award, which honours those who promote a vision of responsible community membership that is respectful and inclusive of all ages and cultures. The award also recognizes local residents who demonstrate the spirit of creativity, innovation and initiative by responding in a proactive manner to an issue relevant to the well-being of the community. Terri Evans, David Jones, the Coquitlam Kinettes, Alex Tanner, Doug Macdonell, Derek LaCelle and Cyd Smythies were also nominated.
In the Society for Community Development Together Against Violence Award category, Joni Mitchell was the winner. This award recognizes those who contribute to a responsible understanding of the social root causes of violence, and recognize, support and encourage proactive community-oriented prevention measures in response to questions of violence. Steve Saunders and Tom Matzen were also nominated.
Betty Riley was the winner of the Westminster Savings Credit Union and Community Volunteer Connections Community Volunteerism Award. This award honours those who recognize the value of volunteerism to both community and individuals, and support others in their volunteer efforts. Sharon Tokar, Michael Orason, Eleanor Setter and the St. Laurence Anglican Church - Phoenix Friends were also nominated.
Bill Greenland won the Encore Dance Academy Arts and Culture Award. Bill Miller, Deborah Solberg and Les Robson were also nominated in this category, which recognizes those who share artistic abilities and talents through mentoring or teaching others in the community, and use the arts to promote community.
Women Organizing Activities for Women (WOAW) won the Tri-City News Neighbour to Neighbour Award, which recognizes those who encourage interaction among neighbours and inspire a sense of neighbourhood on a person to person level. The Glenayre Community Association, Irene Dale, Margaret Pannell, Rose Gadd and Lu Robino were also nominated.
Wendy Cooper was the winner of the Douglas College Myrna Popove Lifetime of Leadership Award, which recognizes those who consistently unify and have dedicated a significant part of their lifetime recognizing, empowering and promoting community. Rich Chambers, Linda Cucek, Karen Beckenbach and Sandra Kitzel-Hogg were also nominated.
Maureen Dockendorf received this year's Wesbild Holdings Ltd. Workplace Leadership Award, which honours those who promote a healthy community within the workplace and use the workplace as a vehicle to promote community.
Marty and Julie Fitzgerald and the Crossroads Hospice Society were also nominees in this category.
All award recipients are nominated by local residents, and the Society for Community Development, which sponsors the awards, is already accepting nominations for next year.
Call the society at (604) 777-2394, or visit www.vcn.bc.ca/scd/index.html for details.
. VIDEO - NFTS Host Nicole Whitney particpated in David Morehouse's remote viewing 'test' on the TV show Proof Positive filmed on location in Los Angeles - watch the segment here: